A New Start
by Zanessalover576
Summary: Troy and Gabriella had been dating for three years. Troy was going to go to University of California, Berkeley and Gabriella, Stanford University. Will the couple be able to maintain their relationship if they were living in different places? Watch as they love hard, fight, cry, and grow as a couple.
1. Making The Time

Gabriella Montez put the last suitcase into her mother's car. She closed the trunk and sighed. Gabriella was moving into the freshman dorms of Stanford University today. Even though she was excited for this new chapter of her life, she was also sad that she had to spend time apart from her family, friends, and most of all her boyfriend of three years, Troy Bolton. Troy had been accepted into the theater program at University of California, Berkeley. He had also been selected to be playing basketball for the school. Gabriella was so proud of him. They had promised each other that they would visit one another on the weekends. Gabriella walked into the house and went into the living room and lied down on the couch and sighed.

"Are you ready to go?" Maria, Gabriella's mother asked.

"I think so. Troy should be here any minute" Gabriella said.

As if on cue, the two women heard Troy's truck screeching to a stop. Troy got out of his car and walked to the front door of the Montez home that he knew so well. He rang the doorbell and Gabriella immediately ran to the door and flung it open, launching herself into her boyfriend's arms. Troy wrapped his arms around Gabriella and kissed her cheek softly. Gabriella pulled back so she could look at Troy's face.

"Are you ready for this?" Troy asked.

"Ready? I don't know. Do I have to do this? Yes" Gabriella said.

Troy smiled understanding what she meant. He released Gabriella from his arms and entwined their fingers together. Troy sat down in the swing that was next to the front door and Gabriella sat next to him. He put his arm around her.

"You are going to do great Gabs. I know you are" Troy said.

"That's not what I'm worried about, Troy. It's killing me that I have to be away from you" Gabriella said.

Troy kissed Gabriella's temple softly. He put his finger under Gabriella's chin and moved it so she was looking at him.

"We made a deal. We will visit each other every weekend. You can come to Berkeley some of the weekends and I will come to you. We will talk every day" Troy said.

Gabriella looked down at their entwined fingers. Tears filled Gabriella's eyes. Troy knew that this transition was going to be hard for them, but he was willing to do whatever it took to maintain their relationship.

"Baby, don't cry. I will be one hundred miles away" Troy said.

"It's just hard when you have spent all day and every day with someone and it just abruptly ends or is limited to only three days" Gabriella said wiping her tears away.

"I know it is. But we are strong enough to make it work" Troy said.

Maria came out of the house and smiled when she saw Gabriella and Troy sitting on the swing.

"Gabi, we need to get going so we can beat the traffic" Maria said.

"Okay" Gabriella said.

Maria went back into the house and closed the front door. Gabriella turned to her boyfriend.

"I love you so much. Never forget that okay? Everything will be fine" Troy said.

"I love you too" Gabriella said.

Troy opened his arms and Gabriella moved into them. She inhaled his cologne and smiled. Troy pulled away and looked at girlfriend's face. He moved a stray hair away from her eyes. Troy leaned in and kissed Gabriella's lips passionately. Tears fell from both of their eyes, knowing that it would be a while until they could do that again. Gabriella pulled away and smiled. She wiped Troy's tears away as he wiped away hers.

"I'll call you tonight when I get settled" Gabriella said.

"Okay" Troy said.

Gabriella looked at Troy for the last time and smiled. Troy walked to his truck and got into it and drove away. Gabriella and her mother started driving to Stanford. Gabriella had her head leaning against the window thinking about Troy. Maria looked over at her daughter and smiled.

"You both promised each other to make time for one another Gabi. That's all you can do" Maria said.

"Yeah but it's just hard to not be with him every day" Gabriella said.

"All you can do is try and communicate with each other on how everything is going to work" Maria said.

Gabriella nodded. A couple hours later, Gabriella had moved into her dorm and met her roommate, Sarah, who was also a chemistry major, like herself. Gabriella's mother had just left and Gabriella walked back into her dorm and sat on her bed. She dialed a familiar number and waited for an answer.

"Hey baby girl, did you get settled?" Troy asked.

"Yeah, mom just left. I miss you already" Gabriella said.

Troy smiled into the phone.

"I miss you more" Troy said.

"That's not possible" Gabriella said.

"Oh and why is that?" Troy joked.

"Because it's not. My missing you capabilities are a lot stronger than yours" Gabriella said trying not to giggle.

"Well, we will have to see about that when I come see you this weekend" Troy said.

Troy was moving into his dorm in a couple days and he was really excited to see Gabriella.

"Yeah, but I don't think I will be able to wait that long" Gabriella said.

"Four days. We have four days apart. We can do that" Troy said.

"Hopefully" Gabriella said.

"Alright, well I will let you get some sleep okay? You had a long day" Troy said.

"Okay. I love you baby" Gabriella said.

"I love you too sweetheart. I'll talk to you later" Troy said.

The couple hung up. Gabriella got off her bed and walked into the bathroom and smiled when she saw Sarah brushing her teeth.

"How's the boyfriend doing?" Sarah asked.

"He's alright. This transition is just going to be hard for us" Gabriella said.

"You just have to make the time to make it work" Sarah said.

"Yeah, it's just that we haven't ever lived in two completely different places before" Gabriella said.

"You guys will be fine" Sarah said.

Gabriella smiled. She went to bed that night hoping that everything was going to be okay. The next morning, Gabriella woke up and looked at her phone. She had three days left until she could see Troy. Her phone started ringing and Troy's face came onto the screen. She smiled and answered the call.

"Good morning beautiful" Troy said as his voice filled the phone.

Gabriella smiled.

"Good morning" Gabriella said.

"How was last night?" Troy asked.

"It was fine. I fell asleep after I talked to you" Gabriella said.

"Good. You needed it. What are you doing today?" Troy asked.

"I have to go get my schedule and my books" Gabriella said.

"That sounds fun" Troy said trying to be enthusiastic.

Gabriella smiled knowing that her boyfriend was joking.

"Yeah, so when does your practices start?" Gabriella asked.

"I don't know yet. There is a team meeting on Friday and I am assuming that is when all that information will be explained" Troy said.

"Is it still going to be a week long thing?" Gabriella asked.

"I believe so. I haven't heard anything else" Troy said.

"But you can still come visit this weekend?" Gabriella asked.

"There is nothing that is going to get in the way of that. I will be driving as fast as I can to you when I get up there" Troy said.

Gabriella smiled.

"Just don't get in an accident" Gabriella said.

"I won't. I will let you get ready for your day. I just wanted to call and see if everything was going okay" Troy said.

"I'm glad you called. I can't wait to see you" Gabriella said.

"I can't wait to see you too baby. Go get all your stuff done" Troy said.

"Alright. I love you wildcat" Gabriella said.

Troy smiled.

"I love you too" Troy said.

The couple hung up. Gabriella sighed. Fresh tears ran down Gabriella's face. She wiped them away and took a deep breath. Gabriella went to get her schedule and her books and came back to her dorm.

"Hey" Gabriella said opening the door and seeing Sarah sitting on her bed with her laptop.

"Hey, did you get all of your classes that you wanted?" Sarah asked.

"For the most part. The times that I got are horrible though" Gabriella said showing her roommate her schedule.

Sarah looked at Gabriella's schedule.

"Wow, a full load. You are going to be busy" Sarah said.

"Don't I know it" Gabriella said putting her bag down on her bed.

Gabriella unloaded all of her books and placed them into her bookshelf that was above her bed. That night, Troy was on his computer when he saw a incoming Skype call. He smiled when he saw Gabriella's face pop up. Troy answered the call and smiled when he saw his beautiful girlfriend's face.

"Hey baby" Troy said as he put his ear phones in so his parents couldn't hear their conversation.

"Troy" Gabriella said.

Troy looked at Gabriella closely and saw tears running down her face.

"Baby, what's wrong?" Troy asked getting worried.

"Can you come up here please? I need you" Gabriella cried.

"Sweetheart, I'll be there in three days" Troy said.

"I know, but I just need you now" Gabriella said.

"What's going on?" Troy asked.

"I just miss you a lot" Gabriella said.

"I miss you too Brie. So much it hurts. But, in three days you will be in my arms and everything will be okay" Troy said trying to cheer his upset girlfriend up.

Gabriella sighed.

"This sucks" Gabriella said.

"I know it does. Are you having a good time up there though?" Troy asked.

"Yeah, it's different than high school" Gabriella said.

"Why?" Troy asked.

"I just feel distant from people" Gabriella said.

"Well your classes haven't started yet. I'm sure you will be fine once you get back into schoolwork" Troy said.

"Maybe" Gabriella said.

Troy yawned.

"You tired wildcat?" Gabriella asked.

"A little bit. I haven't been sleeping that well since you left" Troy admitted.

"Troy, you need to sleep. That's not healthy to go for days without sleep" Gabriella said going into protective mode.

"Okay mom" Troy joked.

"Baby, I'm serious. You need to sleep" Gabriella said and was now upset.

"I will get some sleep. I promise Brie" Troy said.

"Alright" Gabriella said.

Gabriella sighed.

"I love you" Troy said.

Gabriella smiled slightly.

"I love you too" Gabriella said.

"I'm sorry I upset you" Troy said.

"I just want what's best for you that's all" Gabriella said.

"I know you do and I love you for that but this separation thing is hard and stressful" Troy said.

"We are so close Troy. Just a couple more days" Gabriella said.

Troy nodded.

"I think I'm going to go to bed" Troy said.

"Are you mad at me?" Gabriella asked.

"No sweetheart. I know that you are concerned. You have every right to be. I just need to chill and take care of myself" Troy said.

"Okay" Gabriella said.

"I love you baby" Troy said.

"I love you too wildcat" Gabriella said.

"Can I see my favorite smile?" Troy asked.

Gabriella giggled and smiled for her boyfriend.

"There it is. Alright, I'll talk to you tomorrow okay?" Troy said.

Gabriella nodded. Troy leaned in and kissed the computer screen.

"Night baby" Troy said.

"Night" Gabriella said.

The couple ended their call. Gabriella sighed. Two days later, Gabriella woke up and smiled. Troy was going to come visit her at Berkeley for the weekend. She was so excited to see her boyfriend. Gabriella got out of bed and changed her clothes. She then walked into the kitchen and made herself breakfast. Gabriella's phone went off, playing a ringtone, the ringtone that she had set for Troy. She walked over to her phone and saw one new message.

 _Just started driving. See you in a little while baby girl. I love you_

Gabriella smiled and squealed. She was so excited. Troy had moved into his dorm and started basketball practice. An hour later, Gabriella's phone went off again, playing Troy's ringtone.

 _I have arrived. Where are you?"_

Gabriella looked at the message and ran out of the door with no shoes on. She ran down the stairs and went into the lobby and saw Troy waiting for her. Gabriella ran into her boyfriend's arms and wrapped her arms and legs around him and sobbed into his arms. Troy kissed Gabriella's head softly. He brought her face leveled to hers. Troy kissed Gabriella's lips passionately. Gabriella ran her fingers through her boyfriend's hair and pulled back slowly.

"I missed you so much" Gabriella said.

"I missed you too. Your building is nice" Troy said looking around.

"Thanks. Come on, I'll show you my room" Gabriella said.

The couple walked upstairs to Gabriella's dorm. Gabriella opened the front door and the couple walked in.

"Sarah, Troy's here" Gabriella said.

Sarah poked her head out.

"So this is the infamous Troy that I have been hearing about" Sarah said.

Troy smiled.

"Nice to meet you Sarah" Troy said shaking her hand.

"Nice to finally meet you" Sarah said.

"We are going to go into my room" Gabriella said.

"Alright" Sarah said.

The couple walked into Gabriella's room. Troy shut and locked the door behind them,

"You decorated I see" Troy said looking at the pictures that she had put on her wall.

"Yeah. I just wanted it to feel like home" Gabriella said.

Troy looked at the pictures that were on Gabriella's wall and smiled at the ones of the two of them. Gabriella lied down on her bed and smiled.

"I'm so glad you are here. I thought I was going to die without you" Gabriella said.

Troy smiled. He walked over to Gabriella's bed and climbed onto it.

"I'm glad that I was able to come. Practice nearly killed me this morning Gabs" Troy said.

"Why?" Gabriella asked.

"It just was so different than I'm used to. The coach is different. The players are different. The atmosphere is different" Troy said.

"You just have to get used to it baby. I'm sure that once you get into the routine of things, everything will be fine" Gabriella said.

"I hope" Troy said.

"And you know that I'm coming to your first game. That's one thing that will never change" Gabriella said.

Troy smiled.

"How's everything here? Did you make any new friends?" Troy asked.

"Not yet. I met the girls that live next door but I don't think we have much in common" Gabriella said.

"They aren't Tay" Troy concluded.

Gabriella smiled and shook her head. She missed Taylor so much. She was going to Yale and would be starting next week.

"Babe, just go and meet people. I'm sure there is a chemistry club or a theater club or something like that" Troy said.

Gabriella shrugged.

"Just see what's out there. I don't want you to be in here when you have a whole world that you haven't experienced" Troy said.

Gabriella nodded. Troy kissed Gabriella's lips softly. Gabriella darted her tongue into Troy's mouth. The couple lied down on Gabriella's bed making up for the four days of no kisses. Troy played with the top of Gabriella's jeans and to his surprise, she unbuttoned them for him. He pulled back and smiled.

"I love you" Troy said.

"I love you too" Gabriella said.

Troy adjusted himself so Gabriella was on top of him. Gabriella unbuttoned Troy's jeans and moved his boxers aside without removing them off his body. Troy took Gabriella's hand in his but stopped and reached into his pocket. He held up a package and smiled.

"No glove, no love right?" Troy said.

Gabriella giggled.

"Right" Gabriella said.

Troy put the rubber device on and looked at Gabriella. She took Troy's hands in his. Troy entered her and heard her moan. His gentle thrusts caused her moans to become louder. The couple made love with as much passion as they could. Once they finished, Gabriella got off Troy and lied down next to him. She heard something hit the trashcan and smiled. Gabriella kissed Troy's lips softly.

"I missed you so much" Gabriella said wrapping her arms around her boyfriend.

"I missed you more" Troy said.

"Not possible" Gabriella said.

Troy leaned in and kissed Gabriella's lips softly.

"So, are we going to be in bed the rest of the day?" Troy asked.

"If you want to, why?" Gabriella asked.

"I want to see the city" Troy said.

"Baby, it's not that great" Gabriella said.

"Come on. I'm sure it's not bad. For me?" Troy asked.

Gabriella sighed.

"But I want to have you all to myself" Gabriella said kissing Troy's cheek.

"And you will. After we go see what's around Stanford" Troy said.

Gabriella sighed.

"Okay, let me take a shower" Gabriella said reaching for Troy's boxers.

"Can I join?" Troy asked.

"If you behave" Gabriella said.

Troy smiled.

"I will. I promise baby" Troy said.

The couple walked into the bathroom and got into the shower. They washed each other's bodies and stole kisses every now and then. Once they finished, the couple got out of the shower and changed into their clothes. They then walked out of the bathroom.

"Let me get my keys and my bag" Gabriella said.

"Okay" Troy said.

Gabriella grabbed her room key and her purse. The couple then left the dorm and walked out of the building to Troy's truck. They got into the car and Troy started to drive.

"So where are we going?" Troy asked.

"You will see" Gabriella said.

Troy looked at Gabriella and smiled.

"That's not fair Brie" Troy said.

"I want it to be a surprise" Gabriella said.

"Alright, fine. Can you give me directions?" Troy asked.

Gabriella gave Troy the directions to the place that she wanted to show him. Once they arrived, Troy saw that they were on the edge of a mountain that had a patch of grass and two chairs and a small table in between them. The mountain overlooked the city of Berkeley.

"What is this?" Troy asked.

"Remember in high school how the rooftop garden was our spot?" Gabriella asked.

"Yeah" Troy said.

"Well, I made a wrong turn the other day when I was driving over here and came across this spot. I did a lot of thinking in this spot" Gabriella started.

"What were you thinking about?" Troy asked.

"You, life, school, and our future together" Gabriella said.

"Okay" Troy said.

"I realized that this is the new rooftop garden for me" Gabriella said.

Troy smiled.

"Really?" Troy asked.

Gabriella nodded.

"So if this is your new rooftop garden" Troy started as he got out of the car and walked to Gabriella's side and opened the door.

"Can I have this dance?" Troy asked holding out his hand.

Gabriella giggled. She took her boyfriend's hand and he helped her get out of the car. The couple slow danced until sunset. They knew that nothing could ever ruin their relationship. Not even moving away for school.


	2. Troy's Visit

After slow dancing at their new spot, Gabriella gave Troy directions to a restaurant that she had discovered during orientation a couple weeks before she moved into her dorm. Troy pulled into the parking lot of the restaurant and the couple got out of the car. They walked hand-in-hand into the restaurant and were seated immediately.

"How's mom doing? I promised her that I would call when you got here, but I just didn't want to lose any time with you" Gabriella said.

Lucille, Troy's mother, loved Gabriella as if she was her own child. She was so proud of Gabriella for getting into Stanford and was one of the first people to know that she got accepted.

"She's fine. I talked to her before I came here. She told me to tell you that she loves you and misses you a lot" Troy said.

Gabriella smiled.

"I miss her too. I'll give her a call next week and fill her in on everything" Gabriella said.

"No, you both are going to talk about this weekend. I am sure. She's going to want to know everything" Troy said jokingly.

Gabriella smiled.

"It's only because we love you" Gabriella said.

"Have you talked to your mom?" Troy asked.

"Not really. I just feel like if I call, I will want to go home and I don't want to do that. Thankfully, you came up here and the thought of me wanting to go home has gone away" Gabriella said.

"So you are feeling a little homesick and that's why you don't want to talk to mom?" Troy asked.

"I guess. If I talk to your mom or mine I know that I will want to go home" Gabriella said.

"I wish I could take that feeling away from you" Troy said.

Gabriella smiled slightly.

"You are helping take it away by being here" Gabriella said.

Troy took Gabriella's hand in his.

"I'll always be here. Even though I may be a hundred miles away, I am still right here" Troy said.

Gabriella nodded.

"I have something for you" Troy said.

Gabriella looked at her boyfriend confused. Troy reached into his pocket and pulled out a small box. He placed the box in front of Gabriella.

"Open it" Troy urged.

Gabriella looked at Troy and smiled. She then looked down at the box and took off the top. Gabriella gasped and looked up at her boyfriend.

"Baby, it's beautiful" Gabriella said taking the necklace out of the box.

"I figured that a beautiful necklace like that, deserved to be worn by a beautiful girl" Troy said.

Gabriella smiled. She leaned over and kissed Troy's lips softly.

"I love you and thank you" Gabriella said.

"I love you too" Troy said.

"Can you put it on me?" Gabriella asked.

"Of course, come over here" Troy said moving over so Gabriella could sit next to him in the booth.

Gabriella moved to the other side and handed Troy the necklace. Troy placed the necklace in the correct position and clasped it together. Gabriella looked down and smiled.

"You didn't have to do that" Gabriella said.

"I know, but I wanted to. Consider it your graduation present from me" Troy said.

Gabriella smiled.

"I'll always wear both of the necklaces together" Gabriella said.

"Good" Troy said.

Gabriella moved back to her seat and looked at her boyfriend. The couple ordered their food and then looked at each other again.

"So next weekend am I going to come to you?" Gabriella asked.

"I would love it if you did" Troy said.

"Then it's settled. I'm coming to Berkeley next week" Gabriella said.

Troy smiled.

"Thank you baby" Troy said.

"We made an agreement remember? Every weekend we would see each other" Gabriella said.

Troy nodded. The couple's food came and they ate. Once they finished, the couple paid and left the restaurant. Troy and Gabriella got into the car. Troy looked at Gabriella.

"Where do you want to go next?" Troy asked.

"Can we just drive? Like how we used to" Gabriella said.

"Of course" Troy said.

 _Flashback_

 _Gabriella and Troy were seventeen years old. They were currently driving around. Troy knew there was something on his girlfriend's mind._

" _Baby? You okay?" Troy asked._

" _My dad was diagnosed with lung cancer today" Gabriella said._

 _Troy pulled over and parked his car. He looked at his girlfriend._

" _Brie, baby, I'm so sorry" Troy said._

 _Gabriella let her tears fall from her eyes._

 _End of Flashback_

"Baby?" Gabriella asked.

"Hmm?" Troy asked looking over at his girlfriend.

"What do you see in your future?" Gabriella asked.

"Like as in career wise or life wise?" Troy asked.

"Both" Gabriella said.

"I see myself starring in a couple plays and musicals and I see us taking our relationship to the next level. Why do you ask?" Troy asked.

Gabriella smiled.

"What does the next level in our relationship include?" Gabriella asked.

Troy looked at his beautiful girlfriend.

"Well, I hope to put a ring on this finger and be able to call you Mrs. Bolton" Troy said kissing Gabriella's ring finger.

"You would want to marry me?" Gabriella asked.

Troy nodded.

"You mean the absolute world to me. I couldn't see my life without you. You are the one for me" Troy said.

Gabriella's eyes filled with tears. She wiped them away trying to hide them from Troy.

"Baby, I didn't mean to make you cry" Troy said wiping her tears away.

"No, it's not because of you. I just didn't know any of that. I couldn't see my life without you either. I love you Troy" Gabriella said.

"I love you too Gabs" Troy said leaning in and kissing Gabriella's lips softly.

"Do you think we are going to fight a lot when we start school?" Gabriella asked.

Troy looked at Gabriella confused.

"I think that maybe once in a while we may argue, but I know that we will be able to get through it. Do you think we will?" Troy asked.

"I don't know. I just don't want to lose you" Gabriella said saying the last part softly.

"You won't ever lose me baby. I'll always be here. No matter what the situation is" Troy said.

Gabriella nodded.

"How did we get so serious all of the sudden?" Troy asked.

"Reality set in" Gabriella said.

"Let's pause this conversation and pick it up another time okay?" Troy said.

Gabriella nodded.

"Do you want to go back to your dorm and take a nap?" Troy asked.

"Is that what you want to do?" Gabriella asked.

Troy nodded.

"And it gives us some time to snuggle. I'm going to miss snuggling with you every day" Troy said.

"Me too" Gabriella said.

Troy drove back to Gabriella's dorm. He parked his car and the couple got out and walked to the front door of Gabriella's building. Gabriella swiped her key card into the slot and heard the door unlock. The couple walked into the building and went upstairs to Gabriella's dorm. Gabriella swiped her key card into the slot one more time and the door opened. The couple walked in and smiled when they saw Sarah watching television.

"Hey" the couple said simultaneously.

"Hey" Sarah said.

The couple walked into Gabriella's room. Troy shut the door behind them. Gabriella walked over to her bed and pulled back the covers. The couple got into Gabriella's bed and looked at each other.

"You tired?" Gabriella asked.

Troy nodded. Gabriella kissed Troy's cheek softly.

"I love you. Never forget that okay?" Troy said.

Gabriella nodded.

"I love you too" Gabriella said.

The couple fell asleep in each other's arms. The next morning, Gabriella woke up and saw Troy sleeping next to her. She smiled as she watched her boyfriend sleep. Gabriella kissed Troy's forehead softly. Troy wrapped his arms around Gabriella and smiled in his sleep. Gabriella giggled softly as she saw the smile appear on Troy's face. She placed soft kisses on her boyfriend's chest and made her way up to his face. Troy opened his eyes slowly. He smiled.

"You forgot one place" Troy said.

Gabriella looked at her boyfriend confused. Troy leaned in and gently kissed Gabriella's lips. Gabriella pulled back and smiled. She wrapped her arms around Troy's neck and snuggled into his chest.

"How did you sleep?" Troy asked.

"The best sleep I have had in four days" Gabriella said.

Troy smiled.

"Good" Troy said.

"I don't want this weekend to end" Gabriella said reminding herself that Troy had to go back to school tomorrow.

"I don't either sweetheart. But, we have plenty of weekends to spend together" Troy said.

Gabriella sighed and kissed Troy's bare chest.

"I'm going to miss you" Gabriella said.

"I'm going to miss you too Brie. More than anything" Troy said.

"What do you want to do today?" Gabriella asked.

"I don't know. Let's just see where the day takes us" Troy said.

"Are you trying to tell me that you just want to stay in bed all day?" Gabriella asked.

Troy nodded and kissed Gabriella's neck softly. Gabriella closed her eyes and smiled. Troy made a line of kisses from Gabriella's neck to her lips. Gabriella unbuttoned Troy's pants. Troy removed Gabriella's shirt and placed kisses around chest. He carefully pulled Gabriella's pants down a little. Troy then looked at Gabriella.

"I love you baby" Troy said.

"I love you too" Gabriella said.

Troy moved Gabriella's underwear to the side and entered her. She gasped and gripped Troy's shoulders. The couple made love with every single emotion they could feel. An hour later, Troy watched Gabriella sleep. He loved watching her sleep because she looked so peaceful. Troy saw the marks on Gabriella's neck and smiled. Gabriella started to stir and she opened her eyes and saw Troy looking at her.

"Mm" Gabriella said.

Troy kissed Gabriella's swollen lips softly.

"How long was I asleep for?" Gabriella asked.

"Only an hour" Troy said.

"What do you want to do?" Gabriella asked.

"Can we continue our conversation from earlier?" Troy asked.

Gabriella looked at Troy.

"Sure" Gabriella said.

"Do you think that the distance is going to be hard?" Troy asked.

"Yeah. I just don't want it to come to a point where we just give up and break up" Gabriella said.

"We will just have to work on how we are going to do this. We both are going to have different schedules and other stuff that we are involved in. But if we want this to work, we need to try to make the time" Troy said.

Gabriella nodded. Tears ran down Gabriella's cheeks. She grabbed Troy's boxers and a t-shirt and put them on and walked out of the room and went into the bathroom. Gabriella closed and locked the door behind her. She leaned against the bathroom door and slid down to the floor and cried. Fifteen minutes later, there was a knock on the door.

"Brie, can I come in?" Troy asked.

Gabriella sniffled and stood up. She opened the door and looked at her concerned boyfriend.

"What's wrong? Why are you crying?" Troy asked closing the bathroom door so the couple could have privacy.

"This is going to be hard" Gabriella said.

"Baby, we knew it was going to be hard. We talked about this when we applied for school" Troy said.

"Yeah but that was then, before we got accepted to our schools and this is now" Gabriella said.

"Come here" Troy said.

Gabriella walked over to Troy and looked at him. Troy wrapped his arms around his girlfriend and kissed her lips softly.

"I love you" Gabriella said.

"I love you too babe. We are going to be fine. I promise" Troy said.

"How do you know?" Gabriella asked.

"I know because I don't want to be with anyone else. Some days are going to be harder than others, but we are going to get through it" Troy said.

"What if you find a pretty girl at school?" Gabriella asked softly.

Troy pulled away from Gabriella and looked at her.

"There is no way in hell I would ever find someone else. You are the love of my life Gabs. I love you with every ounce of my being. There is no possible way that I would _ever_ find another girl" Troy said.

Gabriella looked down at her hands. She knew that Troy was getting upset.

"I'm sorry for bringing it up" Gabriella said quietly.

Troy took a deep breath and released it.

"Baby, you have nothing to be sorry for. I know you are worried and it's okay to be" Troy said.

Gabriella wrapped her arms around Troy's waist and buried her face in his chest. Troy kissed Gabriella's head softly. He felt something wet on his shirt and knew Gabriella was crying. He rubbed her back soothingly and let her cry so she could get release all of her stress about the situation. Ten minutes later, Gabriella pulled away and wiped her eyes, that were now red from crying. She looked up at Troy.

"Feel better?" Troy asked.

"A little bit" Gabriella mumbled.

That night, the couple fell asleep in each other's arms wishing that the following day didn't have to come. The next morning, Troy woke up and saw Gabriella sleeping in his arms. He smiled. Troy didn't know how he was going to be able to leave Gabriella without feeling awful about it. He was pulled out of his thoughts when Gabriella started to talk in her sleep.

"I love you Troy" Gabriella mumbled.

Troy smiled and kissed Gabriella's cheek softly. A couple minutes later, Gabriella stirred and opened her eyes slowly.

"Good morning" Troy said.

"Morning" Gabriella said.

"Were you dreaming about me?" Troy asked.

Gabriella nodded against Troy's chest.

"How did you know?" Gabriella asked.

"You were talking in your sleep and said that you loved me" Troy said.

Gabriella giggled.

"Well, it's true. I do love you" Gabriella said.

Troy smiled.

"And I love you. I have to get on the road soon baby" Troy said.

Gabriella sighed and nodded.

"Okay" Gabriella said.

The couple got out of bed and got ready for the day. Troy looked at Gabriella.

"Baby, I have to go. Traffic is going to be crazy" Troy said.

Gabriella nodded. The couple walked downstairs and to Troy's car. Troy wrapped his arms around his girlfriend.

"I love you" Troy said.

"I love you too" Gabriella said.

"This week will go by fast and you will be in Berkeley before you know it" Troy said.

"I hope so" Gabriella said.

Troy leaned in and kissed Gabriella passionately. Gabriella put her hand on Troy's cheek. Troy pulled away slowly.

"I'll call you when I get I to my apartment" Troy said.

"Okay" Gabriella said.

Troy leaned in and kissed Gabriella's lips one last time.

"Love you baby" Troy said.

"Love you" Gabriella said.

Troy got into his car and drove away. Gabriella walked back to her dorm and buried herself in her bed. School hadn't even started and the couple was already seeing how hard it was going to be to keep their relationship the way it has been for the past three years.


	3. Taking The Next Step

The next few days went by really fast for Troy and Gabriella. Gabriella had started school and was trying to get used to Stanford and all of her classes. Troy, on the other hand, was busy with classes and trying to get used to his new basketball team. He realized really quickly that college was way different than high school. One day, Troy picked up his phone as he left his basketball practice. He dialed Gabriella's number and waited for her to answer.

"Hi baby" Gabriella said.

"Hey, how's it going over there?" Troy asked.

"Everything is good. It's kind of crazy. My workload is piling up" Gabriella said.

"I'm sure that you will get it all done" Troy said.

Gabriella smiled into the phone.

"How's everything going with your classes?" Gabriella asked.

"Everything's fine. I got all of my work done for the week that way I will have more time to be with you this weekend" Troy said.

Gabriella smiled. She couldn't wait to see her boyfriend in Berkeley.

"I can't wait to see you. How's your roommate?" Gabriella asked.

"He's not Chad. That's for sure. But I like him. He plays soccer" Troy said.

Gabriella giggled.

"What's his name again?" Gabriella asked.

"Luke. Did you go to meet your clubs that you wanted to join?" Troy asked.

"Yeah, meetings start next week" Gabriella said.

"Sounds like you will have a packed schedule" Troy said as he unlocked his dorm room and walked into it.

"Yeah, but it doesn't feel the same as when I had a busy schedule in high school" Gabriella said.

"You just need to get into the groove of everything. Once you do that, I know that you will be okay" Troy said.

"I guess. How was practice today?" Gabriella asked.

"It's getting better" Troy said.

"That's great. Baby, I have to get some work done, but I will call you tonight okay?" Gabriella said.

"Alright. I love you Brie" Troy said.

"I love you too" Gabriella said.

The couple hung up the phone. Gabriella smiled. She sighed and returned to her never ending pile of homework. A couple days later, Gabriella had packed an overnight bag and was ready to drive to Berkeley to go to see Troy. She couldn't even contain her excitement. Gabriella walked out of her dorm and went downstairs to the parking lot and got into her car and started her drive to Berkeley. An hour later, she pulled into Troy's dorm parking lot and parked her car. Gabriella took out her phone and scrolled to her boyfriend's name.

 _I'm here baby. Where are you?"_

Within minutes, Gabriella saw the building door open and Troy walk out to her car. She got out of the car and smiled. Troy wrapped his arms around Gabriella's waist and kissed her neck softly. Gabriella moved Troy's head so he was looking directly at her and leaned in and kissed his lips softly.

"I missed you" Troy said.

"I missed you too" Gabriella said.

The couple pulled away and entwined their fingers. Troy led Gabriella to his dorm building and the couple walked in and went upstairs. Once they reached Troy's dorm, Troy unlocked the door and the couple walked in. Troy's roommate, Luke was sitting on the couch and looked up and smiled.

"So this is Gabriella that I have heard so much about" Luke said.

"Hi Luke. I've heard a lot about you too" Gabriella said.

"We are going to go into my room" Troy said.

"Alright" Luke said.

Troy took Gabriella's hand and the couple walked into Troy's room. Troy shut the door and looked at Gabriella.

"I love you" Troy said.

"I love you too baby" Gabriella said.

"So, this is it" Troy said putting his arm out, showing Gabriella his room.

"It's nice. It's a lot smaller than mine though" Gabriella said.

"Yeah, but I can deal with it" Troy said sitting on his bed.

"Did you finish all of your work for next week?" Gabriella asked.

Troy looked down at the ground. Gabriella knew that when Troy did that, he hadn't done his work.

"Troy" Gabriella said.

"I was almost done" Troy said.

Gabriella sighed.

"Troy this is college. You have to be more responsible-" Gabriella started but then was interrupted.

"Babe, I have been working on it. I just like to space it out. I'm sorry that I'm not a student who studies day and night like you do" Troy said.

Gabriella just looked at her boyfriend.

"You know what, I'm going home" Gabriella said walking toward the door.

Troy then realized what he had said.

"Gabs, I didn't mean it like that" Troy said.

"Then what did you mean? I work hard for my grades and make time to study. I could be studying right now, but I'm here with you because I wanted to see my boyfriend who I have been crying over every single night about because I missed him so freaking much" Gabriella said as tears started to fill her eyes.

Troy knew how much education meant to Gabriella and he knew that she had every right to be upset with him. Looking at his hurting girlfriend, he realized that he needed to work harder on his classes.

"Brie" Troy said breathlessly.

Gabriella shook her head and wiped the tears that were running down her cheeks. She walked out of Troy's bedroom and left his dorm. Gabriella walked out of Troy's building and went to her car and drove home. That night, Troy had called Gabriella at least thirty times and each time the phone went straight to voicemail. Troy sighed and ran his fingers through his hair. The next morning, Troy was in bed sleeping. He didn't hear his door open. Gabriella walked into Troy's room quietly and got into bed and snuggled into his side. Troy woke up instantly and saw Gabriella lying next to him.

"I'm sorry about yesterday. I overreacted and the things that I said were really hurtful and I knew it" Gabriella said.

"No, I'm sorry. I need to do what I came to college to do, which is study. I'm sorry for the things I said to you. It was wrong and out of line" Troy said.

Gabriella leaned in and kissed Troy's lips softly.

"I love you" Gabriella said.

"I love you too sweetheart. I hate fighting with you" Troy said.

"I don't like it either" Gabriella said.

Troy sighed. He looked at Gabriella.

"Our first fight in college" Troy said.

Gabriella nodded and kissed Troy's chest.

"But we got through it" Gabriella said.

"Yeah. It's only the first week of school and we are already fighting" Troy said.

"We just need to figure things out together" Gabriella said.

"And not blame the other for something" Troy added.

Gabriella nodded.

"I have a team dinner tonight. Do you want to go? You don't have to" Troy said.

"I'll go. I want to meet your new team. But, can you finish your homework before we go, please?" Gabriella asked.

"I'll see what I can do" Troy said kissing Gabriella's forehead.

A couple hours later, Troy closed his book and sighed. He had finished his homework and now he could relax and enjoy the rest of the weekend with Gabriella, who was taking a nap. He got up from his desk and went over to his bed and climbed onto it and allowed Gabriella to snuggle into his chest. She slowly opened her eyes.

"I just finished" Troy said.

Gabriella smiled.

"Thank you baby" Gabriella said.

"No problem. We have to start getting ready to go" Troy said.

"Alright" Gabriella said.

The couple got off the bed and got dressed for Troy's team dinner. They walked out of Troy's dorm and went to the car and started driving to the restaurant.

"Are you busy all of next week?" Troy asked.

"I have a few club meetings but other than that, nothing is going on. Why?" Gabriella asked.

"Just wondering" Troy said.

"Do you have plans?" Gabriella asked.

"No, I just wanted to know what your schedule was going to be like" Troy said.

The couple arrived at the restaurant and walked in. Troy introduced Gabriella to the team and they all ate dinner together. That night, Troy and Gabriella were laying in bed. Gabriella was going to go back to Stanford the next day.

"Troy?" Gabriella asked.

"Hmm?" Troy asked.

"Would you want kids?" Gabriella asked.

Troy looked over at Gabriella. He turned over so he was laying on his stomach.

"We haven't talked about our future that far down the line before. What brought that on?" Troy asked.

"I just was thinking about how you said you wanted to marry me and I thought about what married life would be like with you and the possibility of having kids. It was a stupid question-" Gabriella started.

Troy kissed Gabriella's lips softly. He pulled back and put his hand on Gabriella's cheek.

"No question that you have is ever stupid. I think that I would want kids. But we both have to make the decision" Troy said.

"How many?" Gabriella asked.

Troy smiled.

"Why are you so interested about this? Are you pregnant?" Troy asked.

"No! God, no. I'm not pregnant. Not yet at least. I just want to know" Gabriella said.

"We have years to think about getting married and having kids" Troy said.

"Yeah, do you think about our future together?" Gabriella asked.

Troy nodded.

"All the time. I think about how I have never loved someone as much as I love you and that I want to be with you forever" Troy said lying back down.

Gabriella smiled. She snuggled into her boyfriend's chest.

"I want to be with you forever too" Gabriella said.

Troy smiled.

"Then let's do that" Troy said.

Gabriella nodded.

"I don't want to leave tomorrow" Gabriella said.

"I know. But, you have to go back to school" Troy said.

"When is your first break?" Gabriella asked.

"The end of September. So in like two weeks" Troy said.

"Mine is too" Gabriella said.

Troy smiled.

"Do you want to go home for break?" Troy asked.

Gabriella nodded against Troy's chest.

"I want to see my family and friends and spend time with you" Gabriella said entwining their fingers together.

Troy kissed Gabriella's cheek softly.

"Then we will go home for break" Troy said.

Gabriella kissed Troy's lips softly.

"Okay" Gabriella said.

"Get some sleep okay? You have a long drive tomorrow" Troy said.

Gabriella nodded.

"I love you Troy" Gabriella said.

"I love you too Brie" Troy said.

The couple fell asleep. The next morning, Gabriella drove back to Stanford. The couple had promised each other that they would call their friends and let them know that they were coming home for break. Two weeks later, Troy was driving to Stanford to pick up Gabriella and they would fly back to Albuquerque together. His phone rang and the familiar tune made him smile.

"Hey, I'm almost there okay?" Troy said.

"Okay, wildcat. How far away are you?" Gabriella asked.

"Maybe like thirty minutes. Fifteen if I speed" Troy said.

"Troy! You better not be speeding" Gabriella said.

Troy smiled and laughed.

"I was only kidding" Troy said.

"Ha ha. You are so funny" Gabriella said.

"You know that you secretly loved it" Troy said.

"Maybe" Gabriella said.

"I'll text you when I get to your dorm okay?" Troy said.

"Alright. I love you. Be careful please and no speeding Troy" Gabriella warned.

"Okay mom. I love you too" Troy joked.

The couple hung up. A half hour later, as estimated, Troy arrived at Gabriella's dorm. He picked up his phone and called his anxious girlfriend.

"Are you here?" Gabriella answered.

"Yeah, do you need any help with your bags?" Troy asked.

"Yes please" Gabriella said.

"Okay, I'm coming" Troy said.

The couple hung up. Troy got out of his truck and walked to the entrance of Gabriella's building. Someone was going into the building and held the door open for him to enter. Troy quickly walked up to Gabriella's floor and went to her room number. He knocked on the front door. A few moments later, Gabriella opened the door. She dropped her bags on the floor and wrapped her arms around Troy's neck and kissed him sweetly.

"Hi" Gabriella said.

"Hi, how are you doing?" Troy asked wrapping his arms around her waist.

"Good. How are you?" Gabriella asked.

"Perfect now. How many bags do you have?" Troy asked.

"Just two" Gabriella said looking at her bags that were on the floor.

"Okay, let's get out of here" Troy said picking up her bags.

Gabriella went to Sarah's room and said goodbye to her roommate. She then walked back to where Troy was waiting for her.

"You ready?" Troy asked.

"Yeah, let's go" Gabriella said.

The couple left Gabriella's dorm and walked downstairs to the car. Troy put his girlfriend's luggage into the bed of his truck and closed it. Gabriella had already gotten into the car. Troy walked to the driver's side and got into the car.

"Are you excited to be going home?" Troy asked.

"Yeah. I talked to Taylor and she said that she is off for a week too" Gabriella said.

"Chad said the same" Troy said as he pulled out of the parking lot.

"Are we going to stay at our houses while we are home or are we going to go back and forth from yours to mine?" Gabriella asked.

Troy's eyes widened and a smile crept onto his face.

"Are you talking about moving in together?" Troy asked.

"Yes and no" Gabriella said.

Troy looked at Gabriella.

"Explain" Troy urged.

"I mean since we already spend weekends with each other, doesn't it make sense that we move in together?" Gabriella asked.

"Yeah, but what happens when we have to go back to school?" Troy asked.

"We could leave stuff at our homes with our families and take everything that we absolutely need with us wherever we stay" Gabriella said.

"Let's talk more about this whole moving situation when we get home. I think that we need to really discuss this together and I don't think we should discuss it when I'm driving" Troy said.

"Okay, but you do want to right?" Gabriella asked.

Troy smiled.

"Of course I do. You know that I do. But are we ready for that step?" Troy asked.

"I think we are. But, let's talk about it when we get home" Gabriella said.

Troy nodded. Troy pulled into the parking lot of the airport. The couple got out and pulled out their luggage. They entered the airport and got checked in and waited for their flight. Once they got into the plane and in their seats, Gabriella leaned her head against Troy's shoulder. Troy entwined their fingers together.

"Sleepy Brie?" Troy asked.

Gabriella nodded and inhaled Troy's cologne. She smiled.

"Can we just stay like this the whole week?" Gabriella asked.

Troy smiled.

"There's no where I would rather be" Troy said kissing Gabriella's temple.

The plane took off and two hours later arrived in Albuquerque. The couple got off the plane and sighed when they walked into the airport of their hometown.

"We're home" Troy said.

Gabriella nodded. She leaned in and kissed Troy's lips. Troy kissed her back and pulled back slowly.

"Let's get our bags. Mom is probably wondering where we are" Troy said.

"Yeah, come on" Gabriella said.

The couple walked hand in hand to baggage claim and collected their luggage. Once they walked out of baggage claim, Gabriella stopped when she saw her mother, who she hadn't seen for six weeks. She dropped her bags and ran into her mother's arms. Maria, engulfed her daughter into a hug and kissed her cheek. Gabriella pulled away, tears running down her cheeks. She looked at Troy and smiled.

"I missed you so much Gabi" Maria said.

"I missed you too" Gabriella said wiping her tears away.

"Hi Troy" Maria said hugging her "son".

"Hi Maria" Troy said.

"Let's go home. Troy, I invited your family over for dinner and they are at the house waiting for you" Maria said.

Troy smiled.

"Oh thank you Maria" Troy said.

The three adults walked out of the airport and to Maria's car. Troy loaded his and Gabriella's luggage into the trunk and closed it. They all got into the car and started driving to Gabriella's house. Once they arrived, they walked into the house. Lucille Bolton was already out of the house and hugging Troy as soon as she saw him.

"Welcome home" Lucille said.

"I missed you mama" Troy said hugging his mother.

Troy shook his father's hand. The two families walked into the house and sat down in the living room.

"How was your flight?" Lucille asked.

"Uneventful. It was a smooth ride" Troy said as he sat down next to Gabriella.

Gabriella put her hand on Troy's leg. Troy looked down and then up at Gabriella and smiled. The two families ate dinner together and slowly dispersed, leaving the couple in Gabriella's room.

"Can we continue our discussion about moving in together?" Gabriella asked as she snuggled into her bed.

"Okay, where do you want to start?" Troy asked.

"Are we really ready for that step?" Gabriella asked.

"I think we are. Do you think we are?" Troy asked.

"I think so. I mean we are already spending weekends with each other. It's only a matter of time that one of us is going to end up commuting to the other's school" Gabriella said.

"I don't want to pressure you into doing something that you don't want to do" Troy said.

Gabriella smiled. She loved when Troy put her feelings before his own. Gabriella took his hand in hers.

"You aren't pressuring me to do anything. I want to move in with you. But is the timing right?" Gabriella asked.

"Don't we have three months to decide if we want to stay in our dorms or not?" Troy asked.

"Yeah" Gabriella said.

"Then in three months or sooner why don't we get an apartment somewhere in between Berkeley and Stanford?" Troy asked.

"What about when we come back home? Are we going to live together?" Gabriella asked.

"I think we should consider this apartment as our dorm and then when we go home, we sleep at our own homes and occasionally stay over at one another's" Troy said.

Gabriella nodded.

"Can we talk to our parents about it first?" Gabriella asked.

"Of course" Troy said.

"Do you think they are going to approve?" Gabriella asked.

"I think they will. They know how hard it is for us to be away from each other" Troy said.

"I'm sure my mom is going to think we are having sex and that being the reason why we are going to move in together" Gabriella said.

"We need to explain the whole story to them. It kills me when I have to stay goodbye to you when I leave or you leave to go back to school. If we lived together, we wouldn't have to ever say goodbye" Troy said.

Gabriella nodded.

"Let's talk to our parents about it and see what they think" Gabriella said.

"Okay" Troy said.

There was a knock on the door.

"Gabi? Are you awake?" Maria asked through the door.

"I think that is my cue to leave" Troy said.

"No, wait a second" Gabriella said looking at him.

Gabriella got out of bed and opened the door.

"What's up mom?" Gabriella asked.

"Is Troy here? I thought I heard his voice" Maria said.

Gabriella smiled.

"Yeah, he's here" Gabriella said.

"Troy, you couldn't stay away for a day" Maria joked.

Troy laughed.

"No, I can't stay away knowing that she is a block away" Troy said.

Maria giggled.

"I just wanted to say that I'm going to bed" Maria said.

"Okay mom. Good night" Gabriella said hugging her mother.

"Good night, Ms. Montez" Troy said.

"Troy-" Maria started.

Troy smiled.

"Good night, Maria. Sorry it's a habit" Troy said.

"Good night guys" Maria said.

Maria closed the door. Gabriella walked back to her spot in her bed and got under the covers.

"Stay here tonight?" Gabriella asked.

Troy's phone went off.

"If it's Chad, I'll kill him" Troy said.

Gabriella giggled. Troy looked at his phone and saw his mother calling. He picked it up and talked to his mother for five minutes and then hung up and looked at Gabriella.

"She wanted to know where I was. But back to your question. Are you okay with me staying over at your mom's house?" Troy asked.

Gabriella nodded.

"We aren't going to do anything" Gabriella said.

"You don't know that" Troy said.

Gabriella's face turned a shade of pink. Troy smiled.

"So? What is the decision?" Troy asked.

"Stay here" Gabriella said.

Troy nodded. He took off his shirt, which revealed his toned abs. Troy then took off his pants, leaving him in only his boxers. Gabriella lifted the covers so Troy could get under them. Troy went over to the edge of Gabriella's bed and got in. Gabriella immediately snuggled into Troy's chest and sighed contently.

"Better?" Troy asked.

Gabriella smiled.

"It feels like home" Gabriella said.

Troy smiled. He leaned in and kissed Gabriella's lips softly but passionately. Gabriella kissed him and back and put her hand on Troy's face. She pulled back and leaned her forehead against his.

"Home, is wherever you are. I know that sounds cheesy but it is. I love you Gabriella" Troy said.

Gabriella smiled.

"I love you too Troy" Gabriella said.

The couple fell asleep in each other's arms. They couldn't wait to see what their future held.


	4. The Move

The next afternoon, the couple gathered their families together at Gabriella's house. The parents of the couple looked at each other, obviously confused of why they were all being called together for this emergency meeting that Troy and Gabriella wanted to have.

"What's going on guys?" Jack asked the couple.

"Brie and I were talking last night and for a while actually, and we came to the decision of that we wanted to move in together. We wanted to find a place that was in between Berkeley and Stanford so we wouldn't have to travel so far to get to school. We wanted to know your thoughts" Troy explained to his parents and Gabriella's mother.

The parents looked at each other and then at the couple.

"Why do you need to move in together now?" Lucille asked the couple.

"It kills us to be away from each other Lucille. I can't speak for Troy, but I want to spend the rest of my life with Troy. I want to marry him, have kids with him, grow old with him, and love him for the rest of my life. We want to be adults about this and we wanted to come to you to get your input" Gabriella said.

Troy, who was stunned that his girlfriend told his mother her life plans, looked at his mother.

"And I want to spend the rest of my life with Gabriella. She's everything to me and I never want to let her go" Troy said.

The parents looked at each other and took in what their children had said. They looked at the couple.

"You have my blessing" Maria said.

Gabriella smiled and hugged her mother. Troy did the same. The couple then pulled away and looked at Troy's parents.

"What about school?" Lucille asked.

"We will go to all our classes and commute from our apartment" Troy said.

Lucille looked at her husband. Jack nodded.

"Okay, we approve" Lucille said.

Gabriella smiled. She hugged her boyfriend's parents.

"When we go back to school, we will start apartment hunting" Troy said.

"Okay" the parents said.

"What are you guys going to do when you are here?" Lucille asked.

"Well, I was hoping that the balcony door would be open for the week" Troy said.

Gabriella smiled.

"Troy, do you even need permission anymore? You can use the front door too, you know" Maria said smiling.

"Don't ruin my fun! It makes things more exciting" Troy joked.

Gabriella giggled.

"But, if it's not okay with you, I totally understand" Troy said.

"Troy, you know that you can stay. You are always welcome here" Maria said.

"Thank you Maria" Troy said.

The two families talked for a while and then dispersed promising each other that they would stay in touch. That night, Gabriella was lying in bed. She was looking at something on her laptop when she heard a knock on the balcony door. Gabriella smiled. She put her laptop to the side and got out of bed and went to the balcony door and opened it. Gabriella smiled when she saw Troy.

"Hi" Troy said.

"Hi, you can let yourself in babe. The door is unlocked" Gabriella said.

"I know, but this first night I wanted to knock so you didn't freak out" Troy said.

Gabriella smiled. She leaned in and kissed Troy's lips softly. Gabriella walked back to her bed and got into it. She held the covers open so Troy could get in. Troy took his shirt and pants off and climbed into bed.

"What are you doing?" Troy asked kissing Gabriella's shoulder.

"Looking at apartments by school" Gabriella said.

"See anything interesting?" Troy asked.

"A couple things, but we would have to go and look at them" Gabriella said.

"When we go back to school, we can look" Troy said.

Gabriella nodded. She shut her computer down and put it on her desk. Gabriella snuggled into Troy's chest.

"Are you excited to move in together?" Troy asked.

Gabriella nodded. She entwined their fingers together.

"I'll be happy when you don't need to use the balcony door to come in and visit" Gabriella said.

Troy smiled.

"But that's my trademark. You will miss it when I don't have that opportunity anymore" Troy said kissing Gabriella's temple.

"Yeah but I think I will like it more when you don't need to sneak into my room" Gabriella said.

Troy smiled.

"Yeah, that will be nice" Troy said.

Gabriella traced the outline of Troy's abs. She then started making her way down to his bellybutton. Once she hit his waistband, Troy took Gabriella's hand in his. Gabriella looked at her boyfriend.

"What?" Gabriella asked.

"I would prefer us not having sex in your mother's house while she is sleeping in the next room" Troy said.

"I just need you" Gabriella said.

Troy smiled. He hovered over Gabriella and kissed her lips softly, but passionately. Troy put his hand on the hem of Gabriella's underwear and felt her flinch. He looked up. Gabriella smiled apologetically. Troy moved Gabriella's underwear down to her knees. He looked up at her and smiled. Troy carefully spread Gabriella's legs apart. He slid a finger into Gabriella and felt her body arch.

"You okay?" Troy asked softly.

"Troy, please" Gabriella whined.

Troy kissed Gabriella's lips softly. He brought his finger out of Gabriella and then put it back in. Gabriella put her arms around Troy's neck. Troy continued until he felt Gabriella's body tighten around his finger. He brought his finger out and looked at his girlfriend. Troy leaned over and kissed Gabriella's lips softly.

"I love you" Gabriella said.

"I love you too" Troy said.

The couple fell asleep that night happily. They couldn't wait to live in their own apartment together. The week off of school went by fast for the couple. They had flown back to California and couldn't wait to start apartment hunting. Within a couple days of them being back, they had found an apartment for themselves that was in between Stanford and Berkeley. Troy had moved all of his belongings in first because Gabriella had tests that week. Once the weekend hit, Troy drove to Gabriella's dorm and parked his car. He walked to the entrance of Gabriella's building.

 _Baby, I'm here. Let's start moving_

A couple minutes later, Gabriella walked into the lobby of her building, carrying some of her belongings. She put them down and opened the door. Troy picked up what Gabriella had brought down and the couple started loading it into Troy's truck. The couple then walked back up to Gabriella's dorm and brought the rest of her stuff down. Once that was loaded into the truck, Troy closed the truck bed and looked at Gabriella.

"You packed well. Is that everything?" Troy asked.

"Yeah, that's it. Let me go return my key and I will be back" Gabriella said.

"Okay, I'll be in the car" Troy said.

Troy got into the truck and waited for Gabriella to return. A couple minutes later, Gabriella came back to Troy's truck and opened the passenger door and got in. Troy looked at Gabriella and smiled.

"Hi" Gabriella said.

"Hi, you ready?" Troy asked.

Gabriella nodded. Troy leaned in and kissed Gabriella's lips softly. Gabriella kissed him back and smiled. Troy started driving.

"Are you nervous about living together?" Troy asked.

"Why would I be nervous?" Gabriella asked.

"We just took a big step in our relationship" Troy said.

"It doesn't make me nervous. I know that I want to be with you and there's nowhere else I would want to be" Gabriella said.

Troy smiled.

"I love you" Troy said.

"I love you too. Are you nervous?" Gabriella asked.

"I don't want to mess up" Troy said.

Gabriella looked at Troy.

"What would you mess up?" Gabriella asked.

"What if we fight and we end up breaking up?" Troy asked.

"Babe, have we ever fought so much that we were going to break up?" Gabriella asked.

"No" Troy said.

"Then you have nothing to worry about. We need to just take this whole thing day by day" Gabriella said.

Troy nodded. Fifteen minutes later, Troy pulled into the parking structure of the apartment and parked his car. The couple got out of the car and started unloading Gabriella's belongings and bringing them upstairs to their apartment. Once they finished, the couple lied down on Troy's bed, which they decided to take since he would be sleeping at Gabriella's when they would go back to Albuquerque.

"We did it. We moved" Gabriella said tiredly.

Troy smiled.

"Yeah, now we can do whatever we want to do" Troy said.

"We can have sex without being interrupted" Gabriella said.

Troy smiled and nodded. He leaned in and kissed Gabriella's lips softly.

"We can do our work without being interrupted by our roommates" Troy said.

Gabriella smiled.

"We are officially in charge of our own lives" Troy said.

Gabriella nodded. That night, Gabriella was in the bathroom and groaned. Troy heard Gabriella and walked over to the door and knocked politely.

"Baby, are you okay?" Troy asked.

"I can't believe this" Gabriella said.

"Brie, what's wrong?" Troy asked.

"Give me a minute" Gabriella said.

A couple moments later, Gabriella opened the bathroom door and looked at her boyfriend.

"What happened?" Troy asked.

"My period" Gabriella said as her cheeks turned red.

Troy sighed. He opened his arms and Gabriella walked into them. Troy kissed Gabriella's head softly.

"I guess the sex will have to wait" Gabriella said.

Troy smiled.

"I guess so" Troy said.

"I hate my period" Gabriella said.

"Why?" Troy asked.

"Because it makes me feel gross and bloated" Gabriella said.

"But, it gives you the ability to have kids later on in life" Troy said.

Gabriella smiled.

"Yeah" Gabriella said.

The couple fell asleep that night in each other's arms. They couldn't wait to start their new adventure together. The next morning, Troy had class. He got out of bed before his alarm and walked into the bathroom and took a shower. Twenty minutes later, he saw a sight that killed him. Gabriella was hugging her legs to her chest and trying so hard to fall back asleep. He walked over to the bed and sat on the edge.

"Good morning" Troy said.

"Morning" Gabriella said.

"Cramps?" Troy asked.

Gabriella nodded embarrassed to be talking about her period with her boyfriend. Troy smiled and kissed Gabriella's lips softly.

"Do you want me to run you a bath? Maybe it will help soothe your muscles a little" Troy suggested.

Gabriella nodded.

"Okay" Troy said.

Gabriella got out of bed and followed Troy into the bathroom. Troy turned on the water of their Jacuzzi tub and let it fill to the top. He squeezed some of Gabriella's favorite soap into the water and then turned the running water off.

"Do you need me to do anything else baby?" Troy asked.

Gabriella shook her head.

"No, thanks though" Gabriella said.

Troy smiled and kissed Gabriella's cheek. He left the bathroom and Gabriella got into the tub. She closed her eyes and waited for the warm water to soothe her aching body. Ten minutes later, Gabriella finally felt relief and sighed happily. She got out of the tub and drained the water and changed into her clothes. Gabriella walked out of the bathroom and saw that Troy was no longer in the bedroom. She walked into the kitchen and saw him standing at the stove. Gabriella walked over to her boyfriend and wrapped her arms around his waist. Troy turned around and smiled.

"How are you feeling?" Troy asked.

"Better. The bath helped" Gabriella said.

"Good. I made you some tea" Troy said.

Gabriella smiled and leaned in and kissed Troy's cheek.

"Thank you. You didn't have to" Gabriella said.

"But, I wanted to. I have to leave for class. Do you need anything while I am out?" Troy asked handing her a cup.

"No" Gabriella asked sipping the warm liquid.

"Are you sure?" Troy asked knowing Gabriella may want something from the store.

"I have everything I need" Gabriella said.

Troy smiled.

"Okay" Troy said.

"I love you, have a good day" Gabriella said kissing Troy's lips.

"I love you too" Troy said.

Troy left the house and drove to Berkeley. A couple hours later, Troy unlocked the door of the apartment and walked in.

"Brie? I'm home" Troy said.

"In the bedroom" Gabriella said painfully.

Troy walked into the bedroom and saw Gabriella sitting in the fetal position.

"Hey, how are the cramps?" Troy asked.

"Painful" Gabriella said quietly.

Troy walked over to his side of the bed, where they had stored all of their pain relief products. He opened a drawer and took out a bottle of Midol and opened it and took out two pills. He handed Gabriella the pills and a cup of water. Gabriella swallowed the pills and drank the water.

"Thank you" Gabriella said.

"No problem sweetheart. How was class?" Troy asked.

"Good. I have a lot of homework" Gabriella said.

"Oh, I am surprised you haven't started it yet" Troy said.

"I was about to but then all the cramps came and I just couldn't move" Gabriella said.

Troy smiled.

"Are you feeling a little better?" Troy asked.

Gabriella nodded.

"Now that you are home" Gabriella said.

Troy smiled.

"Come on, if you don't do your homework now, then tomorrow you will be crying and asking me why you didn't do it" Troy said.

Gabriella nodded in agreement. She got out of bed. Troy wrapped his arms around his girlfriend and kissed her shoulder softly. The couple then went to the living room and started their homework. A week later, Gabriella was back to her old self. She got home from class and immediately started working on her homework. Once she finished, Gabriella went into the bedroom and started tidying it up and getting rid of the boxes that they didn't need any more. A couple hours later, Troy hadn't come home yet. He usually was home by now and it was getting late. Gabriella picked up her phone and dialed the familiar number and waited for him to answer.

"Hi honey, I know I'm late. Practice ran later than usual and I couldn't call. I'm on my way home" Troy said.

"Oh okay. I just didn't know what happened to you and I got worried" Gabriella said.

Troy smiled into the phone. She loved and cared about him so much.

"I'll be home in about fifteen minutes" Troy said.

"Okay" Gabriella said.

Fifteen minutes later, Gabriella heard the front door open. She walked into the living room and was met with a surprise that she wasn't expecting at all. Taylor walked into the apartment and looked around the entry way.

"Oh my god" Gabriella cried and sat down on the ground.

Gabi!" Taylor said happily.

Taylor ran over to her best friend and hugged her. Troy smiled as he watched the reunion.

"When did you fly in?" Gabriella asked.

"An hour ago. My flight got delayed" Taylor said.

Gabriella turned to Troy and ran into his arms and kissed his lips.

"I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you" Gabriella said.

Troy smiled.

"I love you too. I knew that you needed Tay. You didn't need to say that you did. I could feel it. So, I called her and she happened to have this weekend free" Troy said.

"This is the best surprise ever" Gabriella said.

"Oh, well you have to hold that statement for a minute" Taylor said.

Gabriella looked at her best friend confused. Taylor walked to the front door and opened it. Chad Danforth walked into the apartment and smiled. Gabriella started crying all over again.

"Gabster" Chad said.

"Chad" Gabriella said running into her friend's arms.

Gabriella looked at Troy and smiled.

"How did you do this without me knowing?" Gabriella asked.

"Mom set it up" Troy said.

Gabriella smiled.

"So are you going to just stand there or are you going to show me your new apartment?" Taylor asked.

Gabriella smiled. The two girls walked away and left Troy and Chad by themselves.

"How's your season going?" Troy asked.

"Good. It was hard to adjust at first but I like it. It's definitely not high school ball anymore" Chad said.

Troy nodded.

"Definitely not" Troy said.

"How is living with Gabi going?" Chad asked.

"It's good. She's really easy to live with" Troy said.

"You guys haven't fought?" Chad asked.

"No" Troy said.

"I don't know how you guys do it" Chad said.

Troy smiled.

"We communicate with each other. If one person has a problem with something, they let the other person know and both of us will figure out how to solve it" Troy said.

"Is she going to have a ring on her finger soon?" Chad asked.

"Not yet. I want to wait until we graduate and have our lives together" Troy said.

"Good choice" Chad said.

The couple was so happy that Taylor and Chad came to visit them. That night, Gabriella and Troy were in their room getting ready for bed.

"Are you happy Tay is here?" Troy asked.

Gabriella nodded as she got into bed.

"It makes this place feel like home. Yes, this is our home, but none of our close friends are here" Gabriella said.

Troy nodded.

"I understand what you mean" Troy said.

"My period ended yesterday" Gabriella said changing the subject.

Troy raised his eyebrow and smiled slightly.

"Is that so?" Troy asked.

Gabriella giggled.

"Yes" Gabriella said.

"Well, then the question that I should be asking is if you want to have sex?" Troy asked.

"What about Tay and Chad? They are in the next room" Gabriella said.

"We will have to be extra quiet and fast. Like a ninja" Troy said.

Gabriella laughed.

"It's up to you" Troy said.

"I want to. It's been a while" Gabriella said.

Troy smiled and nodded.

"Okay" Troy said.

Troy kissed Gabriella's lips softly. Gabriella kissed him back. Troy carefully played with the bottom of Gabriella's shirt. He pulled back slowly and carefully lifted Gabriella's shirt up and over her head, throwing it to the side. Gabriella leaned in and kissed Troy's lips passionately. She started unbuttoning his shirt and pushed the sleeves of it off. Troy pulled back and Gabriella pulled down her jeans and lied down on the bed. Troy helped pull the rest of the jeans off of Gabriella. He carefully played with the top of Gabriella's underwear.

"Troy, I need you" Gabriella said.

Troy smiled. He pulled down Gabriella's underwear but froze. Troy cursed himself.

"Baby, what's wrong?" Gabriella asked.

"I need to find something" Troy said getting off the bed and looking through his drawers.

"Now?" Gabriella asked.

"Yes, now" Troy said.

Troy looked through his drawers until he found what he was looking for. He took the item and got back on the bed. Troy held up a small package and Gabriella's eyes widened.

"Thank god you stopped when you did" Gabriella said.

"Yeah, or we would have been in big trouble" Troy said putting the condom on.

Gabriella sighed. She looked at Troy and smiled. Troy looked at Gabriella.

"You okay now?" Gabriella asked.

"Yeah" Troy said.

Gabriella kissed Troy's lips. Troy pulled away and looked at Gabriella. She smiled and nodded. Troy entered her and listened to her moan.

"Troy" Gabriella said breathlessly.

"Everything okay baby?" Troy asked softly.

Gabriella nodded. Troy kissed Gabriella's lips passionately. His slow thrusts made Gabriella want more of him.

"More please Troy. Oh my god" Gabriella said trying to control her breathing.

"Easy baby. Take it nice and slow" Troy said.

Gabriella got herself together. Troy kissed Gabriella's lips softly and continued his slow thrusts. Forty-five minutes later, Gabriella had sweat dripping down her face and trying to catch her breath. Troy was lying next to her. His arm laying across Gabriella's stomach.

"I love you" Troy said.

"I love you too. Who knew that living on our own could make our sex life that much better?" Gabriella said.

Troy laughed.

"So you like what you did?" Troy asked.

Gabriella nodded.

"I'm so happy that we don't have to say goodbye anymore" Gabriella said.

"Me too Brie. Me too" Troy said kissing Gabriella's cheek.

The rest of the night, the couple relaxed in the comfort of their own home. They were so happy that they were opening a new chapter of their lives together.


	5. We Are Not In High School Anymore

A couple weeks later, Troy and Gabriella had gotten the hang of living together. Troy would go to class in the morning and come back to the apartment around three in the afternoon. Gabriella would have class in that time frame as well which made it easier for the couple to spend time together and study. One day, Gabriella opened the front door and walked into the apartment, carrying all of her books. Troy saw Gabriella carrying her large stack of books and got up and took some of them for her. He looked at his girlfriend and knew something was wrong.

"Did you have a rough day?" Troy asked.

Gabriella nodded.

"My group for my presentation in my organic chemistry class didn't show up to go over the project so I did the whole thing by myself" Gabriella said putting her books down in the living room.

"I'm sorry baby" Troy said.

"To make matters worse, I have a test for my physics class that I have to study for" Gabriella said.

Troy sighed.

"Is there anything that I can do to help?" Troy asked.

Gabriella looked at her boyfriend and smiled slightly.

"No but thanks. I'm going to have a long night" Gabriella said.

"I think I have something that will cheer you up" Troy said.

"What is it?" Gabriella asked.

Troy walked over to the kitchen and went to the refrigerator and pulled out his specialty peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and walked back to the living room. Troy set the plate in front of his girlfriend. Gabriella looked at the plate and then at Troy and smiled. She stood up from the couch and leaned over and kissed her boyfriend.

"You always know how to make me feel better" Gabriella said.

Troy smiled.

"I only try my best" Troy said.

Gabriella took a bite of her sandwich and smiled.

"How was your day?" Gabriella asked.

"Fine, I have practice tonight" Troy said.

"What time?" Gabriella asked.

"Eight to ten" Troy said.

"Okay. I'll probably be studying" Gabriella said.

"You aren't really going to study all night are you?" Troy asked.

"I have to if I want an A on my test" Gabriella said.

"Do you want me to bring you dinner when I come back?" Troy asked.

"Okay" Gabriella said.

"Alright" Troy said.

Gabriella leaned in and kissed Troy's lips.

"Love you" Gabriella said.

Troy smiled.

"Love you too baby. I'll be in the bedroom so I don't distract you from your studying" Troy said.

"Okay, thank you" Gabriella said.

Troy walked into the bedroom and shut the door. Gabriella finished her sandwich and pulled out her study materials and started studying. A couple hours later, Troy came out of the bedroom, dressed in his basketball practice attire. He smiled when he saw Gabriella studying. Troy walked over to his girlfriend and placed a kiss on her cheek.

"How's the studying going?" Troy asked.

"Okay. I'm just making sure I know everything backwards and forwards. Did you do your homework in the bedroom?" Gabriella asked.

"Yeah, I didn't want to do it out here because I know you need complete silence when you study" Troy said.

Gabriella smiled at her boyfriend's thoughtfulness.

"Thank you baby. But, you could have studied out here. I wouldn't have minded" Gabriella said.

"I just wanted you to be in your study zone. I think it's cute when you study" Troy said.

Gabriella giggled.

"How is that cute to you?" Gabriella asked.

"You just look like you are going to dominate whatever you are doing and nothing is going to stop you from doing that" Troy said.

Gabriella smiled. Troy looked at his phone and checked the time. He looked at Gabriella.

"I have to go to practice" Troy said.

"Okay" Gabriella said.

Troy leaned in and kissed Gabriella's lips.

"I love you. Study hard baby" Troy said.

"I love you too and I will" Gabriella said.

Troy left the apartment and Gabriella continued studying. At ten-thirty, Troy unlocked the door to the apartment and walked in. He closed the door and saw Gabriella asleep at the table, study materials in her hand. Troy smiled. He walked over to his girlfriend and carefully took her materials out of her hand. Troy kissed Gabriella's cheek.

"Brie?" Troy asked.

"Mm.." Gabriella mumbled.

"Come on baby. Time for bed" Troy said.

Gabriella opened her eyes slowly and looked at Troy. Troy helped Gabriella stand up and put his arm around her and the couple walked into the bedroom. The couple changed into their pajamas and got into bed. Gabriella snuggled into her boyfriend's chest. She looked at Troy.

"How was practice?" Gabriella asked.

"It was fine. Games start next week" Troy said.

"When is your first game?" Gabriella asked.

"Thursday" Troy said.

"I'll be there" Gabriella said.

Troy smiled. He loved when Gabriella came to his games. Troy always looked at her for strength.

"My parents said that they wanted to come and so did Chad" Troy said.

"Then you will have all the luck you can possibly get" Gabriella said.

"I only need one good luck charm at my games" Troy said.

Gabriella smiled.

"When is your test?" Troy asked changing the subject.

"It's at nine" Gabriella said.

"Then you better get some sleep" Troy said.

Gabriella nodded. She leaned in and kissed Troy's lips. Troy kissed her back and pulled away slowly. He put his hand on Gabriella's cheek.

"Good night sweetheart" Troy said.

"Good night" Gabriella said.

The couple fell asleep. A week later was Troy's first game. Gabriella had called Lucille and told her to meet at their apartment. She hadn't seen it yet. The doorbell rang and Gabriella ran to the door and opened it. She smiled when she saw the Bolton's standing at the door.

"Hi guys" Gabriella said hugging her "second parents".

"Hey, how's it been going over here? Is Troy giving you a hard time?" Lucille asked.

"It's going well. Troy's been good. He's been really busy with basketball and has been running around for the past couple weeks" Gabriella said.

"Sounds like he's been busy. You haven't been here all alone have you?" Jack asked.

"No, he usually comes home around three, which is when I'm done with class. But since the season started, so he's been out late" Gabriella said.

"Wow. Well, take me on a tour of this apartment" Lucille said.

Gabriella smiled. She and Lucille walked around the apartment. An hour later, the doorbell rang and Gabriella walked to the door and opened it. She smiled when she saw Chad.

"Hey Chad" Gabriella said.

"Hi Gabs" Chad said hugging his "little sister".

"We should get going. I'm sure it's going to be a packed game" Gabriella said.

Everyone left the apartment and they all drove to Berkeley and parked at the basketball stadium. They walked into the stadium and sat down in their seats.

"Wow, this gym beats mine by a landslide" Chad said.

Gabriella smiled. The game started and all the players were introduced by name. When the announcer called Troy's name, the Bolton's, Chad, and Gabriella stood up and cheered. Troy looked up at the stands and smiled when he saw everyone. He winked at Gabriella. Gabriella smiled and blew him a kiss. The game started and Troy was playing in most of it. Troy had the ball and was dribbling until the player of the other team blocked him, causing Troy to fall and skid across the slippery gym floor. Gabriella and Lucille stood up.

"Troy" Gabriella said breathlessly.

The coach had come onto the floor and leaned down to talk to Troy. A couple moments later, a couple of Troy's teammates helped him walk back to the bench. Gabriella took a deep breath and released it. Jack put a hand on Gabriella's shoulder.

"He's okay. I'm sure that he wasn't expecting college ball to be more aggressive than high school ball" Jack said.

Gabriella nodded. The game continued and Troy sat out the rest of the game. At the end, the bears had won the game. Everyone that was in the stands had gone out of the stadium and only the families of the teams were on the court with their players. As soon as Gabriella spotted Troy, she knew that he was hurt. She walked over to the chair that he was sitting in and kneeled down in front of him.

"Great game baby" Gabriella said.

"For what I played" Troy said wiping the sweat from his face.

Gabriella smiled apologetically.

"How's your knee?" Gabriella asked.

"Busted" Troy said looking down at his knee.

"Come on, let's get you home" Gabriella said.

Gabriella helped Troy stand up. She put his arm around her and helped him limp over to his parents and Chad.

"Dude, great game" Chad said.

Troy smiled and shook his best friend's hand.

"Thanks for coming man. I appreciate it. Sorry that you couldn't watch me play as much as I wanted to" Troy said.

Chad smiled.

"All that matters is that you got to play. How did it feel?" Chad asked.

"It felt so good to be on the court again. But, I don't think I'll be playing for a while or at least until I get my knee checked out" Troy said looking at his injured knee.

"You will heal up fast" Chad said.

The Bolton's, Gabriella, and Chad went to dinner and enjoyed each other's company. That night, Troy and Gabriella arrived home. Troy limped to the living room and lied down on the couch and sighed. Gabriella sat next to him and kissed his cheek.

"How's your knee?" Gabriella asked.

"Hurts, but I will be okay" Troy said.

"Do you want to me to get you some ice for it?" Gabriella asked.

Troy looked at his knee and then at Gabriella and nodded. Gabriella smiled.

"Don't move" Gabriella said.

Gabriella walked to the kitchen and brought Troy an ice pack. She handed Troy the cold compress and he placed it on his injured knee.

"Thank you baby" Troy said.

Gabriella smiled.

"No problem. Just keep the ice there until the swelling goes down" Gabriella said.

Troy nodded.

"I probably pulled a muscle" Troy said.

"You've been working yourself too hard. You need to slow down a little bit" Gabriella said.

"Yeah, but I don't want to Brie" Troy whined.

"I know you don't. But, working yourself to the point of getting hurt isn't worth it. I don't want to see you continuously getting hurt" Gabriella said.

Troy knew that Gabriella was worried about him. He put his hand on top of hers.

"I'll be more careful" Troy said.

Gabriella nodded.

"Just for my peace of mind" Gabriella said.

Troy smiled. He leaned in and kissed Gabriella's lips.

"Tomorrow, you need to go to the doctor and find out if it's broken" Gabriella said.

"Brie, I'm fine. I promise" Troy said.

Troy got off the couch and limped to the kitchen to a get a glass of water.

"If you were fine, you wouldn't be limping" Gabriella said.

Troy looked at Gabriella and sighed.

"Okay, I'm not alright" Troy said.

"Just go to the doctor and see what's going on" Gabriella said.

Troy nodded. Gabriella walked over to her boyfriend. She placed a kiss on his cheek softly.

"I'm just looking out for baby. That's all" Gabriella said.

Troy smiled slightly.

"I know. I guess I am just frustrated that this happened. I think I'm going to go to bed" Troy said.

"Do you need any help?" Gabriella asked.

"No, I got it. Night baby" Troy said kissing Gabriella's lips.

"Good night" Gabriella said.

Troy walked into the bedroom and went to bed. An hour later, Gabriella was studying in the living room. She didn't hear Troy get up and walk into the living room.

"Are you coming to bed?" Troy asked.

Gabriella looked up and smiled. She saw how tired Troy was.

"In a minute. Go back to bed Troy" Gabriella said.

Troy walked back into the bedroom and got back into bed. A couple minutes later, Gabriella closed her book and set it aside and walked into the bedroom and got into bed. Troy felt the bed shift and opened his eyes. Gabriella looked at Troy.

"How's your knee?" Gabriella asked.

"It feels a little better than earlier" Troy said.

"Good. Tomorrow go get checked out" Gabriella said.

Troy nodded.

"I'm sorry if I scared you. I didn't mean to" Troy said.

Gabriella's face softened. She put her finger under Troy's chin.

"Troy, it's not your fault. Things happen. Don't beat yourself about it" Gabriella said.

Troy nodded. He leaned in and kissed Gabriella's lips softly. The couple fell asleep. The next morning, the alarm went off and Troy hit it. He stretched out his arms and yawned. Troy looked over at Gabriella, who was sleeping peacefully. He kissed Gabriella's cheek softly and got out of bed. Troy stood up and winced when he felt the pain in his knee. He limped to the bathroom and took a shower. Twenty minutes later, Troy emerged from the bathroom and carefully walked into the bedroom. He saw Gabriella getting out of bed.

"Good morning" Gabriella said.

Troy smiled.

"Good morning baby girl" Troy said wrapping his arms around Gabriella.

"How are you feeling today?" Gabriella asked.

"In pain" Troy said.

Gabriella looked at her boyfriend and sighed.

"When is your appointment?" Gabriella asked.

"Ten" Troy said.

"Do you want me to drive you?" Gabriella asked.

"Don't you have class?" Troy asked.

"I will miss class if you don't have a ride to your appointment. I'm not letting you drive yourself when you are like that" Gabriella said.

"I don't want you to have to miss your class for me Brie" Troy said.

"Who is going to take you to the doctor and ask the necessary questions that need to be asked?" Gabriella asked.

Troy looked at Gabriella and sighed.

"You" Troy said.

"Come on, get ready and we will leave" Gabriella said.

Troy got dressed and the couple left the apartment. Gabriella drove to the doctor's office that they had found in their area and parked her car. The couple got out of the car and walked into the office.

"I'll sign you in babe. Go sit down" Gabriella said.

Troy walked over to a chair and sat down. Gabriella signed him in and sat next to him. A couple minutes later, Troy's name was called and the couple followed the nurse into an exam room. Troy carefully sat on the exam table and looked at Gabriella. There was a knock on the door and a brunette woman who was probably in her forties came into the room.

"Hi I'm Dr. Brown. Troy, I heard you had a nasty fall on the basketball court" Dr. Brown said.

"Yeah. I don't know if it's broken or not" Troy said looking at his injured knee.

"Let's take a look" Dr. Brown said.

Dr. Brown examined Troy's knee as carefully as she could without hurting him. She then looked up at Troy.

"Okay, I don't think it's broken but you were very close to breaking it. It is sprained. I'm going to advise that you don't play for two weeks" Dr. Brown said.

Troy sighed and looked down. He nodded in disappointment.

"You need to stay off of it as much as possible. Rest is what is going to help it heal" Dr. Brown said.

"What can he do for the pain?" Gabriella piped in.

"I'll write a prescription for something that will help you with the pain" Dr. Brown said.

Troy nodded. Dr. Brown wrote a prescription for Troy's pain medication and left the room. Gabriella looked at her boyfriend.

"At least it's not broken Troy. Be happy" Gabriella said.

"I can't play for two weeks Brie. That's two games that I will miss" Troy said.

"I understand that. But what's more important? Your well-being or basketball?" Gabriella asked.

"That's not fair" Troy said.

"No, you know what's not fair, how about having to be worried more about your well-being than you do?" Gabriella said.

Troy sighed and closed his eyes.

"Let's talk about this at home" Troy said.

The couple left the office and drove home. Once they got into their apartment, Troy sat down on the couch.

"Gabs, can we talk?" Troy asked.

Gabriella sat down on the couch and looked at her boyfriend.

"I understand that you are going to miss two games Troy and I know that you are upset about it. I was just trying to get you to see that you should focus on your injury more than focusing on when you can play again" Gabriella said.

Troy nodded.

"This is just frustrating Gabriella. You know that I go from one thing to the other. I'm not used to staying in one place and not doing anything. I can't play basketball and I can barely walk. Two things that I do daily. I didn't mean to snap at you" Troy said.

Gabriella smiled.

"I understand baby. Just listen to what Dr. Brown told you to do and in two weeks you can play again" Gabriella said.

Troy sighed and nodded.

"What am I going to do for two weeks without basketball?" Troy asked.

"Go insane" Gabriella joked.

Troy looked at Gabriella annoyed.

"I was only kidding baby. Don't worry your knee will be feeling better soon" Gabriella said.

Troy sighed. He stood up and started walking away.

"Where are you going?" Gabriella asked.

"To sulk in bed" Troy said.

Gabriella smiled and shook her head. A couple days later, Troy would go to school and come back and stay in bed for the rest of the time. He had been told by his coach to rest and not play for two weeks like Dr. Brown had told him. One day, Troy opened the front door and almost had a heart attack when he saw his mother sitting in the kitchen with Gabriella.

"Baby, can you come to the kitchen please?" Gabriella asked.

Troy limped slowly to the kitchen and was met with his mother.

"Troy, why didn't you call me and tell me about your knee?" Lucille asked.

"I didn't want you to worry. I wanted to take care of it on my own" Troy said.

Lucille sighed.

"Brie has been taking good care of me and been on me about staying off my feet" Troy said.

Lucille looked at Gabriella. Gabriella smiled and nodded.

"You still should have called" Lucille said.

"Sorry mom. I've been really busy" Troy said walking out of the kitchen and into the bedroom.

Gabriella smiled at Lucille apologetically.

"He's just stressed out about the whole thing" Gabriella said.

"I can see that. Let me know if anything happens Gabi" Lucille said.

"I will. Thanks for coming and checking up on us" Gabriella said.

"Of course. Love you" Lucille said.

"I love you too" Gabriella said hugging her boyfriend's mother.

Lucille left the house and Gabriella closed the door. She knew that Troy was going to be upset that she had called his mother. But she didn't know what else to do.


End file.
